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Gearbox To Raise 'Borderlands 2' Level Cap 'For Quite A Few Levels'

Borderlands 2 associate producer James Lopez has confirmed that Gearbox will be raising the game’s level cap apparently in Q1 of this year. “We do have one planned, and it will be for quite a few levels which will allow you play for quite a bit longer,” Lopez told PlayStation Magazine. “We also have a plan for Q1.”

This comes on the heels of disappointment. Fans of the game were hoping for a level cap boost with the latest DLC, Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt, and many were frustrated when one didn’t arrive.

Lopez says it’s all about the numbers.

“With Borderlands 1 we had to go by forum posts, and by checking out the number times certain achievements had been unlocked to really get an idea of where players were,” he tells the publication. “But SHiFT allows us to see a lot more about the way players are playing the game, and see what they’re doing. We wanted to give people enough time to get at least one level 50 in there, and then see from there, how many people are doing this. Is this a good time for this? We also didn’t want to wait so long that people were no longer interested, or felt like it wasn’t coming.”

As they say, timing is everything. But did they miss the bus this time around? With three DLC releases out already, should at least this latest one been packaged with a level cap upgrade? I’m not a hardcore Borderlands 2 player so my opinion is fairly useless. What do you think?

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I don’t think they have really “missed the bus” I got my character to the Level cap after about the first month and I’m far from bored with the game. That’s because it forced me to play as the other characters which are also extremely entertaining and a change of pace from the first class that I chose.

I have all of the characters at level 50, i have done the play through both on normal and true vault hunter. What else am i supposed to do? I can not complete the 3rd DLC cause the levels that i am fighting are just to high. I am at a point were there is no normal levels, they all have the little skull nest to their name. This level cap needs to hurry or i a mjust going to stop playing.

It’s amazing how play-style is driven by the expectation of a future level cap change.

I think it all depends on the type of player you are. Some people like to rush to the cap, bypassing story and quests, so they begin getting the best drops as quickly as possible. Others, like me, enjoy the journey and will play through with multiple characters and likely not grind for loot at 50. I’m personally not a completionist, so I have neither the time or patience for grinding – but I do see the fun in it for others.

I’ve seen forum posts where people refuse to play or buy DLC because they think it is in vain (what if that legendary drop comes and they then raise the level cap and that item becomes obsolete!) – a point that I think is quite valid depending on your expectations with the game and how you want to play.

I think what it all means is that companies should probably be a little more forthright with their post-launch plans. Advertise in advance that each DLC or every other will come with a small level cap increase. Or just flat-out state that the release level cap is THE cap and won’t budge. Whatever the decision, let the player base in on it!

Would you by any chance be a PS3 player? If so, I’d like to play with you sometime. I have plenty of great gear to share, and I don’t have a lot of time to put into the game either. I’m uchihaj on the network if you want to like up sometime.

I agree on almost all points here, Wyatt. As with Bethesda and the DLC fiasco, communication of a thoughtful and informative manner up front could have saved Gearbox from some of the angst players are feeling.

You make the point well that it’s not if there is a raise or not, it’s the communication.

While there is really not much bus to miss (aside from lost interest), I fail to see what a cap increase would deny players without a level 50 character. My siren has been at 50 for about 3 months now, and I was hoping she could start gaining some xp again (I’ve been holding off on playing some of the DLC because I was under the impression that she would be able to get xp for it by now).

Well, I greatly enjoy playing BL2 and I don’t think they have “missed the bus” either. They didn’t quite hit the bullseye, but I think they’ll hit the target just fine if they quickly get this level cap raised. Sure, there are a lot of us that have all of our gear perfectly assorted, but we want something to strive for again. Leveling up is what makes the RPG a roller coaster ride… When you’re at the highest level, you feel like you’re stuck at the top right before a drop. Yeah it’s thrilling at the top, but it gets boring there when you can’t move.

Their reasoning for not bumping the level cap makes me feel guilty. I only ever play the game local co-op, so while I’m a huge fan of this game, I only get to play it one or two weekends a month, whenever me and my Bro-lands buddy have schedules that sync up. And since I hadn’t heard anything about an incoming level cap, I haven’t been in that big of a rush to play more. I hadn’t planned on even going for a second playthrough until we beat the game and all the DLC.

I don’t entirely understand the business side of the decision. How hard is it to raise the level cap? Would raising the level cap hurt them financially? If the game has systems that scale creatures to player level and generates weapons for that level as well, what’s the point in a level cap? Just have the XP required for a level up increase exponentially, until it eventually takes 7.2 x 10^23 xp for a single level. Silly, yes, but it would eliminate all the complaints about level caps.

I think they missed the boat when the level cap raise didn’t come in December. The fact it’s not coming in January is certain death for this game among my circle of friends. They don’t understand how a lot of us play. I hate hitting the level cap in any game. I quit when I hit it. So I’ve been milking these 50 levels for so long (like the rest of the players out there, they just don’t understand how to read the data) that I’ve not even started on the second DLC yet for fear of level capping where the game becomes infinitely less interesting to me. For players like me, if they keep looking at SHiFT till we’re at level 50, THAT’s NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. They should use SHiFT to monitor how much time players are spending in game as well. I have to think the majority like me have seen their play time dwindle to 1/6 or so what it was before we got close to the level cap. Without more levels, I’ve no reason to even download the latest DLC (or the Campaign of Carnage for that matter). I enjoy planning out my characters development. Not only has that run out, but Gearbox doesn’t even seem to understand the importance of it in RPGs. Just look at how much time hardcore RPG players put into Dragon’s Dogma this year. I likely will never play any of the three DLCs after Captain Scarlet just because there is no level cap raise and I’m on to other games in the lull.

i am a hardcore gamer i love to play borderands 1 &2 but i will have to say that the second 1 is by far the best and as far as the level cap i am glad that it has not come out yet i have 1 level 50 and a couple low levels i want to have the chance to go and get them up to 50 also.

yes its called play thru 2.5 all enemys are 50+ and u can fight any main bosses by just going to the locations. if u dont play multi player its gonna be tough, hit me at schleefen @ gmail. and ill help u out by friend requesting u and working it with ya

Personally, I’ve stopped playing quite some time ago. Once I reached 50, beat the game – twice, and got my Legendary items, I was done.

I’m not much of a fan of DLC, since they are generally overpriced for adding relatively little content to a game. A level cap increase doesn’t entice me to return, either … I mean, what else is there to do than the same exact thing you did in the first 50 levels?

I was perfectly fine with getting to the level cap in just under a week’s time of the release of the game. Level cap isn’t everything when the game levels the enemies up to your level and you can still have fun playing everywhere in the game.

That combined with 4 other characters you can do that all with and the fact that it wasn’t ever meant to be a game that you play like Diablo 2 is why it’s fine they’re taking their time adding new content and stuff.

People have tons of other great games they can play that have come out since then and of course old favorites that everyone goes back to over time.

I dont mind waiting :) im so happy with gear box that yes i have a lvl 50 but well all the DLCs i still enjoy it it’s fun and a challenge. Unlike Bethesda im a big big big fan of Gearbix and they have not disapointed at all :) im happy with Gearbox and im sorry if yall are like freaking out because the raising lvl cap patch isnt in yet but hey. the DLC sir hammerlock it was only out for one day people dont expect to see stuff in 30 seconds things take time you know

as a seasoned borderlands player I played through the main game and bought the dlc right away without checking believing I would get to continue my characters level and properly play though the game… I get that they want people to all have a chance to catch up and whatnot but personally I just feel let down. If people wanted to get maxed out they would have and not letting your dedicated fans of the game go further with their persistence to play the game is just a betrayal of there dedication in my opinion.

As large and expansive as a game like Borderlands is, there should be no level cap. Level caps should not be defacto in all games – level caps should have stayed in MMOs, not single player games. I never get why everyone starts copying what someone did, like some mindless robot. Besides more skills, higher levels should provide even more storage, which is a weak point for the Borderlands series anyway.